Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent - hands on

Ugly as sin, but it might still complete its mission

Oh boy, here we go. When Ubisoft said it was unleashing a torrent of Wii games right at launch, it was understood that some of them would be rushed-as-hell ports. After some hands-on time with Sam Fisher's latest espionage adventure, Double Agent, it looks like this is definitely one of the dreaded, slapped together titles - emphasis on "looks like."

Sure, Wii isn't about the graphics. It's the gameplay. But when the game looks like it's running on a PS2, something's wrong. Wii can do more than this, easily. But, for the sake of argument, let's say the visuals aren't that big of a deal. Is there anything about Fisher's dual-sided mission to lure in action-hungry Wii owners? Perhaps... if it's your first time taking down terrorists from the shadows.

Word from the front is that, atrocious visuals aside, the motion controls aren't a crippling mistake and the game is actually kinda fun. Sam's usual bag of tricks is in tow, but with Wii-style controls. The wand functions as camera control, using an onscreen cursor to move and aim the view wherever you want it (something an analog stick could do just fine), while the Nunchuk handles character movement. Shaking the Nunchuk also makes Sam jump - seeing as there aren't a lot of quick-thinking platform leaps in the game, this setup works fine for the sparse jumps.